The Chicago Bears knew, going into the first game of the season, that there were plenty of high expectations. Expectations for a completely revamped offensive line and offensive playbook, and high expectations for the defense to remain the same takeaway defense that it was under Lovie Smith and Rod Marinelli. While one can say that a win is a win, the Bears still have much to prove after their first game of the 2013-2014 NFL season.

What We Learned

The offense did start slow, which was a trend throughout the 2012 season. However, the Bears were able to come back in the second half after being down by 11. That fact in itself is an improvement because under Lovie Smith the Bears were not as good when it came to being down at the half. Also, even though they did start slow the Bears did show some sort of consistency, they weren’t really under performing it was more of a progression and better understanding of the Cincinnati Bengals and what they were trying to do to thwart the Bears offensive attack.

The vaunted Bears defense did manage to come away with two interceptions and a fumble solely from their starting cornerbacks (Charles Tillman, 2 INTs and Tim Jennings, 1 FUM). Yet, they were abused by the chemistry of Andy Dalton and A.J. Green which was mentioned in the pregame post.[1] Not all of A.J. Green’s 162 yards were solely due to the secondary , however, as the Bears defensive line was not generating pressure and on some of their blitzes, Andy Dalton was able to recognize and adjust to the look the defense gave him.

What Is To Be Learned

As the year goes on we will see a definite improvement in the offensive line as the rookie right side of Kyle Long (RG) and Jordan Mills (RT) did better than expected and did not allow a single sack. Jordan Mills did do a better job according to Lester A. Wiltfong at WindyCityGridiron[2] and profootballfocus. Looking at the game you notice that Kyle Long missed a block on Carlos Dunlap which almost allowed a sack had Jay cutler not thrown an incompletion. Due to it being the first game (and allowing no sacks) I am pretty sure Bears fans and the coaching staff can allow some room for mistakes. This only gives Kyle Long something to improve on and take into next weeks game. As a whole the offensive line did not perform as well when it came to running the ball as it did when passing. Matt Forte only rushed for 50 yards with 19 touches and Michael Bush for 15 with 6. To legitimately utilize Matt Forte’s ability to make explosive plays the Bears must be able to open holes for him to have such opportunities. We will see if they can improve on this in the next coming games against Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Detroit.